Pistol extractor question.....

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palmetto99

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Ok, I heard something the other day that made me scratch my head and later question something that I've been doing for a few years.

To avoid bullet setback in my carry pistols, I lock the slide back, drop a round in the chamber and then release the slide. Then put the magazine the pistol and I'm ready to go.

Well, heard someone say that what I was doing was hard on the extractor and could cause a failure. Now explain to me how what I'm doing could put undue stress on the extractor? BTW, my usual carry pistol is a G19. I sometimes carry a Ruger LCP.

All input is welcome and thanks.
 
Most handguns are designed so the extractor never has to snap over a case rim.

Most handguns feed from the magazine, while the case slides up the breach-face, and slides Under the extractor.

Well it hurt a Glock?
No, probably not.

But that isn't the way most extractors are designed to work.

The other thing is, there have been numerous out-of-battery accidents when a round went off when the slide hit it with a full head of steam without feed drag from the mag slowing it down.

If you just gotta do it?
Ease the slide down and push on the back to force the extractor over the rim, kicking & screaming.

rc
 
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I second what RC said, my little brother had an issue with his Filipino 1911 where, if he dropped one in the chamber and hit the slide release, it would go off sometimes. Luckily it never happened in the house, just at the range, and was at least locked up enough not to detonate. I lightened the firing pin, checked sear engagement, and told him not to do it anymore.

I believe this was why Springfield recalled their XDs but don't quote me on that.

If your carry gun is setting bullets back when you close it, you may want to get it fixed instead of using the firearm in a way in which it wasn't intended.
 
But it's so - tacky. If your gun is setting back bullets then your ammo is junk. Any handloader worth his salt can produce rounds that don't set back. Most of the ammo companies couldn't care less. They're only in it for the money.
 
I uses to do it with my SR9 kinda like RC describes. On that gun I would let the slide forward easy to let the extractor rest against the back of the case. Then push in on the rear portion of the external extractor, lifting the front of it, and it would slide right over the case rim bringing the slide home. I have replaced that gun with a CZ that I only load from the mag. Its extractor cannot be manually moved as easily.
 
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Unless your gun is push feed (and I don't know any pistols off the top of my head that are), jumping the extractor over the rim is going to put more pressure on the extractor than it was designed to take. Most (but not all) pistols that use a coil spring on an external extractor are designed to allow it to happen without damage, but it will still cause more wear. Internal extractors like the 1911 will not like this at all and can snap after only a couple of times.
 
Most extractors are designed to snap over a case rim with no problems either in feeding or for the extractor itself. Some guns are designed to push feed and then close on the chambered round. (Almost all external extractors are designed to snap over the rim.)

If the internal extractor in a Model 1911 is properly made from good spring steel, it will snap over the rim with no problem, and in fact doing so was one of the requirements the Army set back in 1909 or so because they didn't want loss of a magazine to completely disable the pistol. Many of the extractors, even the expensive ones, made for the 1911 today will break or lose tension at the least provocation, so it might be best with those to always feed from the magazine.

Jim
 
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